Real Time Global Instruction in a Virtual Environment Barb Mann, Assistant Director for Public Services Julie Arnold Lietzau, Course Manager for UCSP 611

Real Time Global Instruction in a Virtual Environment

Barb Mann, Assistant Director for Public ServicesJulie Arnold Lietzau, Course Manager for UCSP 611

OCLS, April 29, 2010

Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

UMUC Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

ScenariosWeb conferencing for an online courseWeb conferencing for one-on-one sessions with doctoral students in TaiwanGroup library instruction sessions for students and facultyFocus groups with faculty for feedback on the library Web site


Literature ReviewDistance education began as correspondence courses-no real-time interactionMove to audio and video communication methods-opportunities for real-time interactionsThree elements integral to educational process --cognitive presence --social presence --teaching presence Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Literature ReviewInteraction is at the heart of the learning experience and is widely cited as a defining characteristic of successful learning (Baker, 2010, p. 3)


Literature Review: BenefitsAnonymity provides a comfort level(Wu & Marek, 2009)


Literature Review: DrawbacksTechnical difficultiesBudgetary demands Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Web Conferencing for an Online Course (Scenario 1) Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

BackgroundUCSP 611, Introduction to Graduate Library Research SkillsPiloted in 4 sections and offered in more than 15 sessions since then (spring 2008)Utilized Adobe Connect and Wimba2 live sessions per course Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Nuts and BoltsUsed to model and reinforce learning for two major projectsSpecified learning outcomesDetermine place in the semester/timesProvided logistical and technical requirementsUtilized software features to explain and demonstrate contentArchived recording


Provided logistical and technical requirements


Demonstrate contentUtilized software features to explain Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Archived recording


AssessmentSome sessions were assessed via a survey using ZoomerangSurvey link was posted in the LMS classroom and some instructors e-mailed the link to their studentsStandard course evaluations reviewed for commentsProject comparisonsPre- and post-test comparisons


AssessmentFinal project scores with Wimba sessions: 91%Final project scores without sessions: 86%Same instructor for all sessionsSame grading rubric used for all sessions Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

AssessmentPre-test/Post-test data analysis (fall 2009)Overall final exam performance for students who had Wimba sessions: 88%Overall final exam performance for ALL students: 87% Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

AssessmentStudents in Wimba sessions scored higher on the following exam objectives:Formulating a research questionSelecting the most appropriate source for researchEvaluating material on the WebRecognizing when to cite-Web materialsIdentifying correct citation styleIdentifying correct search statements to locate needed materials Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau


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If you participated, what is the primary reason you did so?

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to learn more about library research64%582162960

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I hope to attend other real time sessions in other courses if offered

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The session(s) and/or the recording(s) helped me to better understand the course materials and content

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Assessment: Other Reasons for Participatingto make sure I knew what was required for the project. both, to learn more about library research and to interact with the instructor. to become familiar with new technology. Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau


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Assessment: Positive FeedbackI strongly feel the online/live discussions were very helpful. It helps see what the other students are thinking and questioning. Plus it gives more details about the assignment than what is just listed on paper. I can't emphasize enough how helpful this was.


Assessment: Positive FeedbackI think this live chat was excellent because the instructor responded to everyone's question in a decent order and I would definitely agree to have these kind of live chats for all classes since most of the classes are online. Also, I could ask questions to problems if my classes were all online instead of face-to-face. I really appreciate this live chat because it really helped. Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Assessment: Positive FeedbackTaking a class in an online environment, you do not necessarily get interaction with your instructor or your class. This gives everyone a chance to get together, ask questions, and get some personal/devoted one-on-one time with the instructor. We get the benefit of learning from the instructor, as well as questions from other students.


Assessment: Positive FeedbackI would like to see these become available for other classes and then posted, so if you are unable to attend the live session you can still view it at a later time.


Assessment: DrawbacksI really don't see any drawbacks to the online discussion other than the standard challenge of making free time to attend the live session. This is sometimes complicated in different time zones when some people may still be at work. It requires that computer hardware and internet connections be in excellent working condition.


Final CommentsCourse content reinforced and placed in contextI appreciated the live session very much. It helped me to understand the project! Also, it allows me to go back and review parts that I struggle with for the project. It is an excellent way to study because it is convenient and I just feel like I can study and learn anywhere! UCSP 611 student, spring 2010 Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Web Conferencing for One-on-One Sessions with Doctoral Students in Taiwan (Scenario 2) Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

OverviewOne-on-one research consultations with 20 first cohort DM Taiwan studentsResearch Methods course requiring development of pre-dissertation research question and extensive literature review


Nuts and BoltsDetermined learning outcomesDetermined schedule of one-hour time slots for librarians and allow students to sign up for an hourStudents e-mailed outline of topics to be covered ahead of the sessionProvided web-based digital learning materials and an assignment rubric for students to enhance learning and as pre-workLibrarian spent one hour (sometimes longer) going over research process with student based on their research topic Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

IssuesLanguageTechnology Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

AssessmentComments on standard course evaluationsZoomerang survey for students in the course Debriefings (faculty and librarians) Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Assessment Highlights Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Assessment: Anecdotal CommentsAnecdotal commentsIt's helpful. Thanks for the considerate arrangement.Thanks to my librarian. He has been very helpful.The potential to use technology tools in interactive learning. Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Group Library Instruction Sessions for Students, Faculty and Staff(Scenario 3)


Group SessionsGroup sessions since 2005Hoovers, Business Source Complete, Academic Search Complete, e-reserves, NetLibrary, and RefWorksAttendance consistently increasingWeb4M, Adobe Connect, Wimba


Examples of Student SessionsBusiness Source CompleteAcademic Search CompleteRefWorksHoovers Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Examples of Faculty/Staff SessionsHoovers/ReferenceUSARefWorksNetLibraryE-reserves


Positive Feedback: RefWorksI thought the presentation was excellent. It makes using RefWorks a lot easier and saves on time.I found the presentation to be very useful.The demonstration cleared up several questions that I had; Seeing someone else do it makes a difference.


DM TaiwanRefWorks (1st cohort)Database Searching/RefWorks (2nd cohort)Determined learning outcomesCreated content in collaboration with facultySent hand-outsWorked out technical logistics


Library InstructionWimba sessions as part of library instructionFair to high attendancePositively receivedFaculty members attendedSessions were recorded Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

jarnold7 - Barb, while I didn't record all the 611 sessions, all the LI sessions I did were recorded.

Focus Groups with Faculty for Feedback on the Library Web Site(Scenario 4)


BackgroundRe-design of ILS Web site to make it more user-centeredConducted focus groups to obtain feedbackVirtual mechanism needed to reach out to global constituencies


Nuts and BoltsUsed Zoomerang to obtain volunteers and UCSP 611 faculty members signed upDiscussion focused on three main questions and were asked utilizing Wimba polling featureFollow-up questions were notated via PowerPoint and viewed on Wimba whiteboardChat feature was used as communication methodFacilitator and note taker used audio function to keep discussion flowing


Nuts and BoltsChat transcript and separate polling transcript were captured


Conclusions Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Findings Summarystudents indicated that they would rather take an online course that uses synchronous web conferencing lectures than an online asynchronous text-based lecture course (Skylar, 2009, p. 82)Student and faculty feedback overwhelmingly positive


Findings SummaryProvides greater opportunity for interaction between faculty and studentsFurther research needed to measure the benefit including empirical findings Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Lessons LearnedTechnical issuesWorking with facultyLanguage barriersTime zone differencesCultural differences Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Questions to be AddressedWhat are the pedagogical expectations of students?How is the impact on student instructional needs measured?How is faculty buy-in obtained, especially as they are already having to understand the pedagogy of teaching online as well as learning how to use the LMS? Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Questions to be AddressedShould this technology be required for some courses? Barb Mann, Julie Arnold Lietzau

Final QuoteI am going through your lecture at this time. Wow! That is really incredible. I can listen to the lecture at any time that is convenient and/or as many times as I would need. I like this!

UCSP 611 student, U. S. Army, stationed in Baghdad, Iraqspring 2009


Presentation Based On:

Lietzau. J. A., & Mann, B. J. (2009). Breaking out of the asynchronous box: Using Web conferencing in distance learning. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 3(3/4), 108-119.


ReferencesBaker, C. (2010). The impact of instructor immediacy and presence for online student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. The Journal of Educators Online, 7(1), 2-28. Barker, B. O., Frisbie, A. G., & Patrick, K. R. (1989). Broadening the definition of distance education in light of the new telecommunications technologies. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(1), 20-29. doi:10.1080/08923648909526647


ReferencesDe Freitas, S., & Neumann, T. (2009). Pedagogic strategies supporting the use of Synchronous Audiographic Conferencing: A review of the literature. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(6), 980-998. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00887.x Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000), Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105.


ReferencesMoore, M. G. (1980). Independent study. In R. D. Boyd & J. W. Apps (Eds.), Redefining the discipline of adult education (pp. 16-31). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Skylar, A. (2009). A comparison of asynchronous online text-based lectures and synchronous interactive Web conferencing lectures. Issues in Teacher Education, 18(2), 69-84.


Documents

Real Time Global Instruction in a Virtual Environment Barb Mann, Assistant Director for Public Services Julie Arnold Lietzau, Course Manager for UCSP 611